Shikha Saxena 

Dr Shikha is an academician cum researcher with over 13 years of experience as a faculty/Nutritionist/consultant for reputed brands in education, health care, and research organizations at national and international levels. She has actively worked on community-based projects with proven quantitative and qualitative analysis skills.

Dr Shikha Saxena possesses a PhD in Public Health Nutrition from the Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi (2019). During PhD, she conferred a DAAD fellowship in Germany and has worked as an Academic Expert (Public Health) at Victoria University Online, Australia. She has served as a Consultant at the Public Health Foundation of India, Development Solutions (Project with Jhpiego), and Centre for Policy Research (project with WHO), New Delhi. She has been a faculty at Amity University (Noida and Gurgaon Campus) and GDM Girls PG Govt. College (Ch. Charan Singh University). She started her professional career as a Dietician at Yashoda Super Specialty Hospital. She is also an Academic Counsellor at IGNOU and an examiner at Osmania University Hyderabad for Nutrition courses at NIN-ICMR.

Before joining UPES, she completed her Postdoctoral Research at NICPR, Indian Council of Medical Research. She worked on a project ASTRA (Addressing Smokeless Tobacco Use & Building Research Capacity in South Asia) funded by the National Institute of Health Research, UK. The study examined the impact of behavioral change intervention on smokeless tobacco cessation. She was primarily involved in testing study tools, recruitment and randomization of study participants, outreach programs, counseling on Tobacco cessation, and follow-up, besides monitoring a team that involves data entry and quality checks.  

Her research interest includes Public Health, Community Research, Mixed method studies, Systematic reviews, Therapeutic Nutrition, Gender studies, Women's Nutrition, Food and Nutrition Security, and the Education sector. Her PhD thesis is entitled “A Study on the Determinants of Household Food Security and their Impact on the Nutritional Status of Women in Slums of Ghaziabad City”. It was a mixed-method study. During the tenure of her PhD, she also assessed the Food Security conditions among the refugee migrants at Bielefeld & Detmold, Germany. 

Dr Shikha’s teaching helps the students to have a macroscopic view of the phenomenon. It develops a thirst for learning. She keeps looking forward to the new way of teaching that makes her efficient in doing remarkable work. According to her, teaching should persist with students without their degrees and education. An innovative environment can be created by constantly changing the teaching technique as per the growing needs of the students. Using focused group discussions and giving real-life examples provides more opportunities for students to express their opinions and enjoy learning. She engages students with master’s classes, online quizzes, and presentations. Self-assessment and taking regular feedback from the student and experts from the other departments also enable her to generate innovative ideas and promote learning. Her teaching methods are adaptive and flexible. 

Dr Shikha teaches Nutrition in Emergencies, Epidemiology, and Global Health, Therapeutic Nutrition, Principles of Dietetics, Food Science, Advanced Nutrition, Paediatric and Geriatric Nutrition, Meal Planning, Food Ethics and Laws, and Nutritional Disorders.

She has also taught courses in Public Health, including Hospital Administration, Research Methodology, Public Health in practice, Society and Culture in Public Health, Public Health Program management, and Teaching Aptitude for UGC NET preparation.

Dr Shikha received a DAAD fellowship from the University of Bielefeld, Germany (2016). She also conferred University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test for Lectureship (2009) and Junior & Senior Research Fellowship (2011). She is also certified as a Diabetes Educator by the International Diabetes Federation.

Dr Shikha has worked as a researcher in the National co-ordinate project on Indian ethnic cuisine, Spices Board, Government of India. She has been an active member of the Nutrition Society of India, the Indian Dietetic Association, the Canadian Obesity Network, The Nutrition Society, the UK, and Women in Global Health. She has presented her research work on national and international forums and has been invited as a resource person by Various universities and Multinational Companies.

List of recent publications

• A systematic review on Smokeless Tobacco and Public Health Nutrition: A global Systematic review in peer-reviewed journal Public Health Nutrition Journal, Vol 25, No. 7, Cambridge University Press. Impact factor: 4.02, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980022001331
• A Research paper on ‘Smokeless tobacco quitting during COVID-19: A mixed-methods pilot study among participants screened for a cessation trial in India’, Clin Epidemiol Glob Health Oct-Dec 2021;12:100902. doi: 10.1016/j.cegh.2021.100902. Epub 2021 Nov 11.
• A Research article on “Determinants of Household Food Security and their Impact on the Nutritional Status of Women in Slums of Ghaziabad City, India”, International Journal of Food and Nutritional Sciences, e-ISSN:2320-7876, Vol 7, Issue 3, July 2018
• Published a fact sheet factsheet about Smokeless Tobacco Cessation in India. Available at https://www.astrasouthasia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Smokeless-Tobacco-Cessation-in-India-Factsheet.pdf

shikha.saxena@ddn.upes.ac.in